Apparatus for separating genuine



June 16, 1942. F. E. A. WALLIN ETAL 2,286,321

I APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GENUINE FROM SPURIOUS COINS Filed Aug. 17, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 16, 1942. w L AL 2,286,321

APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GENUINE FROM SPURIOUS COINS Filed Aug. 17, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W w m/ fw 9% June 16, 1942. F. E. A. WALLIN ET AL APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GENUINE FROM SPURIOUS COINS Filed Aug. 1'7, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lllljll ml 6 ,z wm

Patented June 16, 1942 APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING GENUINE FROM SPURIOUS- COINS Fred E. A. Wallin, Chicago, Kurt T. Johnson,

Palatine, and Carl G. Johnson, Chicago, 111., assignors to Noel M. Seeburg, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 17, 1936, Serial No. 96,411

7 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for separating genuine and spurious coins and is particularly applicable to the separation of genuine United States nickels from slugs and tokens manufactured from different metals and alloys. As hereinafter explained the invention may be adapted to accept a United States nickel and reject a Canadian nickel, as well as all other coins, slugs and tokens, or it may be adapted to accept both United States and Canadian nickels and reject all other coins, slugs and tokens.

Previous devices have been proposed for the purpose of separating genuine and spurious coins which depend for their operation upon the current of a battery which includes the coin or token as one of its electrodes. Other apparatus has been proposed which includes a heated metal element which makes contact with the coin or token to establish a thermocouple which provides a current for controlling the separation of the genuine and spurious coins.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a separator which does not require any electrolyte or any heated element.

A further object of the invention is to provide a separator which is controlled by the contact of the coin with an unheated conductor element.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a coin chute and associated apparatus embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view therethrough, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4. is a sectional plan, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail, taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 shows diagrammatically the electrical connections Fig. 8 is a wiring diagram; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail showing a modified form of contact.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral ll designates a coin chute which may suitably be located at a slight angle to the vertical. This coin chute suitably comprises a strip I 2 of brass or other suitable metal in which is formed a longitudinal groove [3 through which the coin, such as an American nickel, falls freely. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated the coin chute comprises a front wall l4 of Celluloid. The coin is introduced into the coin chute through an opening l5 in an escutcheon plate It which is provided in the Wall of a cabinet l! in which the coin separator is located. Adjacent the opening l5 a projection l8 carried by a lever l9 projects through a slot 20 into the path of the coin. When a coin is inserted into the opening I5 it swings the lever 19 about its pivot 2| in the counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described. The pivot 2| is carried by an extension 22 of the coin chute base 12.

The lever I9 is normally located in the posi-'- tion shown in Fig. 1 by a tension spring 23 which pulls the lever 19 against a stop 24mounted on the extension 22. The spring 23 is attached at one end to the lever I9 and at its other end to the strip l2. Immediately below the slot 20 the groove I3 of the coin chute is provided with a lateral enlargement 25. Opposite this enlargemerit a pin 26 extends into the groove l3 so as to impede or arrest momentarily the downward movement of the inserted coin. After the coin is inserted it comes into contact with the pin 26 and is diverted into the enlargement 25. It immediately drops out of this enlargement and continues its downward passage through the groove IS. The cooperation of the pin 26 and the enlargement 25 renders it impossible to project a coin down the groove l3 at various speeds, depending upon the impact imparted to the coin by the person inserting it. Consequently, all coins passing down thegroove l3 proceed at substantially the same speed.

Some distance below the upper end of the coin chute the front wall I4 is provided with a longitudinal slot 21 through which extends a contact member 28. This contact member is preferably in the form of the free end of a coil spring 29. This spring may be made of any suitable metal, but we have found that a steel spring suits the purpose admirably. The coil spring 29 is carried by a bolt 30 and is insulated therefrom by suitable insulating members 3|, 32 and 33. The bolt 3!! is carried by a bracket 34 which is secured to the coin chute. As best shown in Fig. 3, the contact 28 normally bears against the base Wall 12 of the coin chute and the other end of the spring 29 abuts against the front wall 14 thereof. This end of the spring is connected to a conductor 35, the connection of which will hereinafter be described. The location of the contact member 28 is such that it lies in the path of the descending coin and is moved outwardly by the coin passing it.

On one side of the slot 21, the base I2 and front wall l4 are provided with aligned openings 36 (Figs. 1 and 6) through which projects the inturned end of a weak spring 38 which is located on the back of the base l2 and is suitably mounted thereon by means of one of the boltswhich secures the bracket 34 in position. The purpose of this sprin 38 is to slow up somewhat the descent of the coin past the contact member 28. This spring may be omitted, if desired, since its function may be effected in other Ways.

Thus, the inclination of the coin chute may be varied or the location of the contact member 28 with relation to the coin chute may be arranged to provide the coin with a suitable momentum for passing the contact member 28. Near the lower end of the coin chute the groove I3 is provided with a lateral enlargement 39 and a pin 40 is provided in the path of the descending coin to divert the coin into the enlargement 39 and delay its delivery so as to provide time for the mechanical operation of the diverting flat flap 4| in the manner hereinafter described.

The flap 4| suitably comprises a. light metal sheet which is freely mounted on a pivot 42 carried by flanges 43 and 44 (Figs. 1 and 4) which are bent upward from the stock of the back plate l2. Near its upper end the flap 4| is provided with an extension 45 which extends through an opening 46 in the flange 44. This extension is curved away from the base plate I2. A spring 45' (Fig. 2) carried by the flange 44 engages the extension 45 and tends to movethe flap 4| towards the base I2; that is, into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The flap 4| is adapted to be held in the full line position shown in Fig. 3 by the engagement of a latch member 41 with the extension 45. The latch member 4'! is pivotally mounted at 48 on the flange 44, and is biased downwardly by a spring 49, also mounted on the flange 44. The latch member 41 comprises a tooth 50 which is adapted to engage the extension 45 of the flap 4|, as

shown in Fig. 2. The latch 41 extends beyond the base plate l2 and isprovided behind the tooth with an inclined surface 5| whereby it may be elevated by the extension 45 of the flap 4| when this extension is moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2.

The lower end of the lever i9 is turned laterally away from the back plate l2 to provide a cam member 52. When the flap 4| is in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3, the extension 45 occupies the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4. When a coin is inserted in the opening l5, the lever i9 is swung in the manner previously described, with the result that the cam 52 engages the curved extension 45 and the flap 4| is cammed into the full line position shown in Figs. 3 and-4. In moving to this position the extension 45 slides under the inclined surface 5| of the latch member 47 so that the latch member is elevated. When the extension 45 is moved past the tooth 55, the latch 41 moves downward- 1y under the influence of the spring 49 and the flap 4| is held in the full line position shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The free end of the latch 4'i is turned laterally behind the plate [2, as shown in Fig. 4, and in its normal latching position it lies upon or near a projection 53 of an arm 54 which is rigidly carried by the armature 55 of the electromagnet 56. The electromagnet 56 is carried by a frame member 51 which is carried by a bracket 58 upon the rear side of the base member l2. The frame 51 carries a stop 59 which i arranged to be engaged by the underside of the arm 54 and serves to keep the armature 55 in normal operating relation to the electromagnet 55. The armature 55 is pivotally mounted on the frame member 57 and the weight of the arm 54 normally moves the armature 55 away from the magnet 56, as shown in Fig. 5. It will readily be understood that when the electromagnet 55 is energized, it attracts the armature 55 with the result that the arm 54 swings upwardly and raises the latch member 4? to unlatching position. When this occurs the spring 46 rapidly moves the flap 4| from the full line position shown in Fig. 3 to the dotted line position in that figure. To summarize, the flap 4| is moved from its dotted line to its full line position (Fig. 3) when a coin is inserted in the opening I5 and is held in that position. When the electromagnet 56 is energized, the flap 4| moves rapidly from the full line to the dotted line position (Fig. 3).

The electromagnet 56 is energized by a genuine coin moving past the contact member 28, with the result that this genuine coin is diverted by the flap 4| into a coin chute 69 through which it may pass to any suitable receptacle or any suitable coin-actuated mechanism. When a spurious coin moves past the contact member 28, the electromagnet 55 is not energized, with the result that the spurious coin is passed by the flap 4| through a chute 5! to a cup 52 on the outside of the cabinet IT to return it to the person inserting it.

The manner in which the electromagnet 56 is energized will now be described. Referring to Figs. '7 and 8, the conductor 35 is connected to one side of the primary of a transformer 53. The other end of the primary is connected by a conductor 64 to the base plate l2. The secondary of the transformer 53 is connected to a suitable amplifier 65, the output of which passes through the electromagnet 55. As shown in Fig. 8, the amplifying system may include two thermionic tubes 66 and 6'! which are connected through a transformer 58. Preferably the two transformers 63 and 58 are step-up transformers. It will be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to any particular number of stages of amplification, since the same may be varied at will, depending upon the sensitivity of the magnet 56 and the power which is needed to operate the mechanism which is actuated by the armature 55.

When a metal coin or token passes in contact with the member 25, a certain definite voltage is generated in the circuit including contact member 28, conductor 35', primary of the transformer 53, conductor 64 and the plate l2. For some reason the voltage generated by a United States nickel or a metal disc of the same alloy is a much higher voltage than that generated by any slug of the ordinary metals from which such slugs are made. While we do not intend to be limited to any theory with which to account for this phenomenon, we believe that a certain rise of temperature of the small contact member 28 results from its contact with the moving coin and that this rise of temperature is sufficient to introduce a thermocouple effect. On the other hand, the

phenomenon may be the result of an electrical potential created by mere contact of the member 23 with the different metal of the coin. Irrespective of these theories, the potential or the current that results therefrom is radically higher in the case of the alloy of which a United States nickel is made than in the case of any metal or alloy of which slugs or counterfeit coins are made. As a result, the output of the amplifier 35 is considerably greater in the case of a United States nickel than in the case of a counterfeit coin.

As shown in Fig. 8, the filaments of the tubes 66 and 6'! are supplied with current from a bat tery A. The plate of the tube 66 is subjected to a plate voltage from a battery B and the plate of the tube 6'! is subjected to voltage from the two batteries B and B2. The degree of amplification may be controlled by the rheostat 69 in the plate circuit. By suitable manipulation of the rheostat 69 the apparatus may be controlled so that the electromagnet 56 is energized by the passage of a United States nickel through the coin chute I I sumciently strongly to unlatch the flap 4! and allow it to move to the dotted line position of Fig. 3, whereas the passage of a slug of other metal will result in the energization of the magnets 55 to a degree insufficient to unlatch the fiap 4!.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: A United States nickel is inserted in the opening I 5 with the result that the flap 4! is moved to its full line position shown in Fig. 3 and is latched in that position. The coin is arrested by the pin 26 and then falls down the chute I!. The coin is somewhat impeded by the spring 33 and it pass-es the contact 23 at a relatively slow speed. This passage creates an electric impulse which is magnified in the amplifier to a current which energizes the magnet 55. With a United States nickel this energization is sufficient to attract the armature 55 and elevate the latch M, whereupon the flap 4! is moved to its dotted line position in Fig. 3. The falling of the coin is impeded somewhat by the pin 53 to give time for this movement of the flap 4!. The genuine coin therefore falls to the right of the flap 4!, as viewed in Fig. 3, and drops into the chute 69. The flap l! remains in the dotted line position until it is reset by the lever I9.

In the case of a slug, the electrical impulse created by its passage in contact with the member 28 provides a lesser de ree of energization of the magnet 55, a degree which is insufficient to effect the unlatching of the flap 4 I. As a result, the spurious coin falls to the left of the flap 4!, as viewed in Fig. 3, and drops into the cup 52 on the exterior of the cabinet.

As shown in Fig. 9, the contact member 28 may be in the form of a small flat spring which is mounted directly on the front plate I 4 so as to extend inwardly through the slot Z'l into the path of the falling coin.

A Canadian nickel is composed of substantially pure nickel and gives a thermoelectric current which is less than that of a United States nickel, but is substantially larger than that given by any ordinary metal or alloy including those from which slugs are ordinarily made. Our amplification and the sensitivity of the unlatching mechanism may readily be adjusted so that the device responds to both American and Canadian nickels without accepting any slug or coin of other metals or alloys.

Although the invention has been disclosed in connection with the specific details of a preferred embodiment thereof, it must be understood that such details are not intended to be limitative of the invention except in so far as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of th United States is:

1. An apparatus for separating coins in accordance with their frictional-electric characteristics comprising an elongated chute through which a coin is adapted to fall freely, an unheated contact of metal arranged frictionally to engage the falling coin, said metal being other than that of the genuine coin and having different frictional-electric characteristics than the metal of said genuine coin, said contact being located at a substantial distance from the upper end of the chute whereby it is engaged by the falling coin after it has fallen freely through a substantial distance thereby generating a current depending on the frictional-electric characteristics of the metal of the coin, metallic means of metal having different frictional-electric characteristics from those of the contact in said chute adapted to be engaged by the coin when the coinengages said contact, a circuit including said contact and said metallic means adapted to be completed by the coin, and mechanical means controlled by the current thus frictionally generated between said coin and said contact for controlling the disposition of the corn.

2. An apparatus for separating coins in accordance with their frictional-electric characteristics comprising an elongated chute through which a coin is adapted to fall freely, an unheated contact of metal arranged frictionally to engage the falling coin, said metal being other than that of the genuine coin and having different frictional-electric characteristics than the metal of said genuine coin, said contact being located at a substantial distance from the upper end of the chute whereby it is engaged by the falling coin after it has fallen freely through a substantial distance thereby generating a current depending on the frictional-electric characteristics of the metal of the coin, metallic means of metal having different frictional-electric characteristics from those of the contact in said chute adapted to be engaged by the coin when the coin engages said contact, a circuit including said contact and said metallic means adapted to be completed by the coin, an amplifier for amplifying the current thus frictionally generated in said circuit, and mechanical means controlled by the amplified current for controlling the disposition of the coin.

3. An apparatus for separating coins in accordance with their frictional-electric characteristics comprising an elongated chute through which a coin is adapted to fall freely, delaying means at an elevated position in said chute arranged to cause coins to drop through the chute at substantially similar speeds notwithstanding variation in force supplied to the coins at the entrance to the chute, an unheated contact arranged frictionally to engage the falling coin, said unheated contact being of metal other than that of the genuine coin and having different frictional-electric characteristics than the metal of said genuine coin, said contact being located at a substantial distance below said delaying means whereby it is engaged by the falling coin after it has fallen freely through a substantial distance thereby generating a current depending on the frictional-electric characteristics of the metal of the coin, metallic means of metal having different frictional-electric characteristics from those of the contact in said chute adapted to be engaged by the coin when the coin engages said contact, a circuit including said contact and said metallic means adapted to be completed by the coin, and mechanical means controlled by the current thus frictionally generated between said coin and said contact for controlling the disposition of the coin.

4. An apparatus for separating coins in ac cordance with their frictional-electric characteristics comprising an elongated chute through which a coin is adapted to fall freely, delaying means at an elevated position in said chute arranged to cause coins to drop through the chute at substantially similar speeds notwithstanding variation in force supplied to the coins at the entrance to the chute, an unheated contact arranged frictionally to engage the falling coin, said unheated contact being of metal other than that of the genuine coin and having different frictional-electric characteristics than the metal of said genuine coin, said contact being located at a substantial distance below said delaying means whereby it is engaged by the falling coin after it has fallen freely through a substantial distance thereby generating a current depend- 1 ing on the frictional-electric characteristics of the metal of the coin, metallic means of metal having different frictional-electric characteristics from those of the contact in said chute adapted to be engaged by the coin when the coin engages said contact, a circuit including said contact and said metallic means adapted to be completed by the coin, an amplifier for amplifying the current thus friotionally generated in said circuit, and mechanical means controlled by the amplified current for controlling the disposition of the com.

5. An apparatus for separating coins in accordance with their frictional-electric characteristics comprising an elongated chute through which a coin is adapted to fall freely, an unheated contact arranged frictionally to engage the falling coin, said unheated contact being of metal other than that of the genuine coin and having different frictional-electric characteristics than the metal of said genuine coin, said contact being located at a substantial distance from the upper end of the chute whereby it is engaged by the falling coin after it has fallen freely through a substantial distance thereby generating a current depending on the frictionaL electric characteristics of the metal of the coin, metallic means of metal having different frictional-electric characteristics from those of the contact in said chute adapted to be engaged by the coin when the coin engages said contact, a circuit including said contact and said metallic means adapted to be completed by the coin, a gate below said contact adapted to control the disposition of the coin, means actuated by a coin for latching the gate in one position, and electromagnetic means controlled by the current thus frictionally generated in said circuit, when sufficiently strong, for unlatching said gate to control the disposition of the coin.

6. An apparatus for separating coins in accordance with their frictional-electric characteristics comprising an elongated chute through which a coin is adapted to fall freely, an unheated contact of metal in the form of a fine spring arranged frictionally to engage the falling coin, said fine spring being of metal other than that of the genuine coin and having different frictional-electric characteristics than the metal of said genuine coin, said contact being located at a substantial distance from the upper end of the chute whereby it is engaged by the falling coin after it has fallen freely through a substantial distance thereby generating a current depending on the frictional-electric characteristics of the metal of the coin, metallic means of metal having different frictional-electric characteristics from those of the contact in said chute adapted to be engaged by the coin when the coin engages said contact, a circuit including said contact and said metallic means adapted to be completed by the coin, and mechanical means controlled by the current thus frictionally generated between said coin and said contact for controlling the disposition of the coin.

'7. An apparatus for separating coins in accordance with their frictional-electric characteristics comprising an elongated chute through which a coin is adapted to fall freely, an unheated contact of metal arranged frictionally to engage the falling coin, said unheated contact being of metal other than that of the genuine coin and having different frictional-electric characteristics than the metal of said genuine coin, said contact being located at a substantial distance from the upper end of the chute whereby it is engaged by the falling coin after it has fallen freely through a substantial distance thereby generating a current depending on the frictional-electric characteristics of the metal of the coin, metallic means of metal having different frictional-electric characteristics from those of the contact in said chute adapted to be engaged by the coin when the coin engages said contact, a circuit including said contact and said metallic means adapted to be completed by the coin, a gate adapted to control the disposition of the coin after it passes through the chute, latch means for holding the gate in one position, means arranged to be actuated by a coin in the upper portion of the chute for effecting the latching of said gate, and electro-magnetic means controlled by the current thus frictionally generated in said circuit, when sufiiciently strong, for unlatching said gate to control the disposition of the coin.

FRED E. A. WALLIN. KURT T. JOHENSON. CARL G. JOHNSON. 

